Minneapolis Protester Shooting Probed As Hate Crime, Marches Continue

By |November 25, 2015

Nearly 1,000 people marched to Minneapolis’ City Hall yesterday, a day after five protesters were shot near a Black Lives Matter demonstration, an apparently racially motivated attack that pushed the city into the national spotlight, reports the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Police have arrested three white men in connection with the shooting. Authorities are weighing whether to treat the incident as a hate crime. Mayor Betsy Hodges said she “abhors” Monday night's violence and that “those attacks have no place in our city.”

The gunfire erupted around 10:45 p.m. Monday about a block north of the police precinct station where protesters have staged demonstrations and camped out since Nov. 15, when police fatally shot Jamar Clark, an unarmed 24-year-old black man. Miski Noor of Black Lives Matter cited “white supremacists [who] showed up at the protest, as they have done most nights.” When about a dozen protesters attempted to herd the group away from the area, Noor said, they “opened fire on about six protesters,” hitting five of them. City Council President Barb Johnson believes it's time for the demonstrations to end, in part because they are attracting attention from outside groups. After the shooting, Jamar Clark's brother, Eddie Sutton, also urged an end to the encampment, expressing concern for the safety of the protesters. Clark's funeral is scheduled for today.

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